NJ schools scrapping President’s Day to make up for snow closures

President's Day will act as a regular Monday at a number of schools across New Jersey as officials adjust their academic calendars to accommodate some brutal weather so far this winter.

Most school districts have snow days built in to their calendars — if they're not used, the year can end earlier than expected.

But for the first time in a couple winters, weather is actually impacting school calendars. Districts that had two or three days built in for 2023-2024 have already exhausted them, so they need to make up for that time elsewhere in order to meet the state's 180-day requirement.

"There may be times where they would add days back in during spring recess," said Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.

Typically, Bozza said, schools wouldn't just add days to the end of the school year in June. That could get in the way of timely events at the secondary level, such as graduation.

By late Tuesday (a snow day for many districts in the state), several districts had informed parents that President's Day would no longer be a day off for students and staff. They're bringing students in, for either a full or half day.

According to the New Jersey Schools Boards Association, teachers are not required to work on public holidays. But, staff may choose to do so in order to avoid cutting in to summer or spring break.

New Jersey schools must be in session (at least four hours of instruction) for 180 days to continue receiving state aid. Schools don't opt for remote learning days because under current law, they wouldn't count towards the 180-day rule.

"There's certainly a desire that we get legislation passed that would allow for remote learning on certain days that we might have to close," Bozza said.

Right now, remote instruction would only count in New Jersey if it occurs because a school has to close for multiple days due to a declared emergency.

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